My cat. She's a beautiful tortoiseshell.
I first spotted her around 9 years ago scavenging in some local rubbish bins. She was a frightened kitten then and once I'd established that she didn't have a home I made her mine. Sadly she almost died while she was being spayed at the Vets due to human error. I was told by one Vet that it might be kinder to have her put to sleep but as she was so young I knew she deserved a chance. After a complex operation, which involved removing one of her kidneys, she lived to tell the tale. Last year, she suffered vestibular syndrome which left her with no hearing in one ear. As a result, she walks with her head cocked to one side and isn't agile like she used to be but, on the whole, has managed to adapt to her disability. She's an incredibly feisty Tortie girl for sure. She has bags of tortitude and if a big dog ran towards her - instead of sensibly running away, she would stand sideways with her back arched and her tail fluffed up or, failing that, she would charge at the dog until it retreated!
She's on my bed every night and love, love loves endless tummy cuddles. Whatever crap life throws at me just a minute with her has me quickly smiling again. Our favourite thing these days is when I lift up the duvet and she scurries underneath then cuddles up purring beside me. She usually starts dribbling but who cares, she's my extra special baby!
